To Love or to Not to Love
by tlc27
Summary: Jackson's father comes back into his life.
1. Chapter 1

After school, Cody Jackson was walking home from school with his friends from the crash: Melissa, Taylor, Nathan, Eric, and Daley.

"It's finally the weekend!" Eric said happily.

"Yah! So what do we have planned this weekend?" Taylor asked everybody.

"Well we could rent some movies on Saturday and watch them at my place," Daley suggested.

"Okay," Melissa agreed. Everybody else nodded their heads.

"How about we each chose our own movie before we go to Daley's whether or not we rent or just bring them from home,"

"Okay," Nathan and Jackson said at the same time.

"Well, I guess this is my stop, see you guys on Saturday!" Jackson said to his friends.

After Jackson unlocked the door, he walked to the kitchen to get something to. He settled on some chips. He figured that he should get his homework done today because he knew he wouldn't want to do it on Saturday or Sunday. He began on math.

After he finished, Jackson watched TV. His foster dad wouldn't get home until 9:00 pm, so he knew has going to have to entertain himself.

It was about 6:30 when he decided to order some pizza. He order a medium beef pizza. At 7:00 it was delivered by a middle-aged man.

"That will $12.50 please," he said

"Here you go sir,"

"Thank-you,"

After he finished eating, Jackson heard a knock on the door. He got up to answer it.

"Hello, does Michael Fern live here?" the stranger asked.

"Yeah, he's my foster dad, but he doesn't get home until 9:00 so you may want to come back another time," Jackson suggested.

"Well, since it's almost 9:00, maybe you could let me stay?" he asked.

"Uh…Ok," Jackson agreed.

They walked into the living room and he sat on the couch while Jackson sat on the armchair.

"So how do you know Michael?" Jackson asked wanting to know.

Before he could answer that, Michael came barging in the door.

"What the HELL are you doing here Devin?"


	2. Chapter 2

"What? He said he was a friend of your's, so why are you cursing at him?" Jackson said.

"Well Cody, you see," Devin started," I'm your father," he blurted out.

"What you're the scumbag that left my mom and me when I was just a baby?"

"Well you have to understand, Cody. I was on drugs back then, so I didn't know what to say or do when I found I was a father,"

"That's a lame excuse!" Jackson shot at him," And don't call me Cody. Everybody calls me Jackson. You'd know that if you were part of my life,"

"Devin, I think its best if you would leave and let Jackson think," Michael said interrupting the argument.

"Fine," Devin agreed," Bye Jackson,"

After he left Jackson asked his foster dad if he were really his own flesh and blood.

"Yes Jackson he is, but you don't have to go with him," Michael answered him.

"Ok thanks, I'm going to go to sleep,"

"Night Jackson,"

The next morning Jackson decided to call his friends. He first called Nathan.

"Hey Nathan," Jackson said.

"Hey Jackson, what's up?"

"Um…well this is kind of confusing, but I met my father last night," Jackson quickly said.

"You ok? Because I know how you feel about him. I'd feel the same way, if I were in your shoes," Nathan said, hoping that would calm Jackson's nerves.

"I don't know what to do. I know he'll want me to come live with him, but I really, REALLY don't want to,"

"Just go with your heart man,"

"Thanks, I'm going to call the rest of the gang,"

"Hey are you still in for tonight,"

"Most likely,"

"Okay bye!"

After calling Nathan called Melissa. Their conversation went about the same way as his and Nathan's.

After calling Melissa and Nathan, he called the rest of the gang in this order: Eric, Taylor, and finally Daley.

Then, Jackson decided to get some breakfast. He ate oatmeal.

Since Michael was gone already to work, he decided to watch TV. He was in the middle of the show, when he heard a knock on the front door.

When he opened it, he saw Devin. He asked," What do you want?"

"I just want to be a part of your life,"

"Well you had one chance for that, but you just choose not to be a part of my life at my birth,"

"Jackson you have to understand what I was going through. I couldn't think strait," Devin pleaded

"Hey, was it my fault that you were on drugs, so you couldn't think strait? I think it's somebody's fault!" Jackson screamed at him.

"Please Jackson, just give me a chance!"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave now," Jackson said calmly.

"Fine Jackson, but I will be back,"

Jackson shook his head. This thing was getting very confusing.


	3. Chapter 3

Jackson decided to go to the get-together at Daley's. Maybe he could quit thinking for awhile and just enjoy himself.

"Hey Michael I'm going to Daley's," Jackson announced.

"Okay. Are you spending the night there?"

"Most likely, and if Devin comes here, DON'T tell him where I am," Jackson said.

"Okay, but where do you want me to tell him to go if he comes by?"

"Tell him I just went on a walk or something like that,"

"Okay, can do!"

"Bye,"

Jackson decided to walk to Daley's. He knew he could use the air. All of a sudden, a car jumped the curb and almost hit Jackson. When Jackson looked up at the driver, he saw Devin. By looking at him, Jackson determined he was drunk.

"What the hell were you doing? Trying to kill me?" Jackson screamed at him.

"C'mon Jackson you're going on a ride with me. Get in the car NOW!" Devin demanded.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Jackson started to walk away. Devin got out of the car and tackled Jackson. He pulled him to the trunk of the car and taped his mouth shut.

"Not so strong now?"

Jackson struggled to pull off the duct tape, but his hands were tied up with rope. '_Damn it, Devin planned all of this,'_ Jackson thought. Suddenly, he felt a jerk. He knew that the car was starting up again.

Jackson felt around for something sharp. He finally came across a knife. He started to move the knife across the rope tied on his hands. When his hands were free he cut the rope on his feet, and finally pulled the duct tape off his mouth. He almost felt free, but then he remembered he was in the trunk of a car.

"Think, God damn it," Jackson whispered to himself.

Finally Jackson thought of a plan. He knew that Devin would have to stop somewhere to get gas or something. When he'd open the trunk, Jackson would quickly jump out of the trunk with the knife, just in case.

Jackson felt the car stop somewhere. He was getting ready to jump out of the car. He heard Devin get out of the car. Much to Jackson's disappointment, he didn't open the trunk and he didn't come back. After an hour, somebody was walking around the car. Maybe it was Devin. A little bit later, he heard somebody struggling to open the trunk.

The trunk opened with a pop. As soon as it opened, Jackson jumped out of the trunk and sprinted away. Jackson was about 10 feet away when he heard a BAM. Before, he knew what happened, Jackson blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

Jackson woke up in a hospital bed with somebody was standing right beside him. He could also hear their voice. He knew it was Nathan.

"Okay, Jackson well I guess today's the last time I'll see you alive. I just wanted to say good-bye. I wish you'd wake up,"

"What?" Jackson asked startling Nathan.

"Hey guys get in here. He's awake!" Nathan shouted.

"What's going on?" Jackson asked when all of his good friends came piling in.

"You were in a coma for 2 months. You're lucky, because you were on life support and they were about to pull the plug," Nathan explained to him.

"Why would I need to be on life support?" Jackson asked.

"You got shot in the back,"

"By who?"

"Your dad," Nathan said quietly.

When Jackson was trying to recover from the shock, a doctor came in.

"You're a lucky boy," the doctor said, after examining him," If that were to happen to another person they would've have never waken up,"

"How long will I have to stay here?"

"I don't know. I'd estimate about another 3 to 4 weeks," the doctor said as if it was no big deal.

"3 to 4 weeks!?" Jackson questioned very loudly.

"Well, you have to understand the amount of damage you took. You should be thankful that you're alive,"

Just then his foster dad Michael came charging in.

"Oh god Jackson I was so worried about you," Michael said, while he cried.

"Don't worry. I'm okay now," he said trying to fight the tears from running down his face also.

"Jackson I have something to tell you," Michael said.

"What?"

"I adopted you while you were in a coma,"

"Oh, you don't know how much I needed to hear good news, Dad," Jackson said while hugging him yet again.

"Um…I suggest that you let him get some rest," the doctor said.

"Okay," everybody said and they left Jackson alone.

Jackson closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

When he woke up he saw his new dad sitting over in an arm chair. Jackson reached over to grab the remote. He turned the TV on, to find out that it was 3:35 am. Nothing good was going to be on. He sighed and turned it off. He tried to sleep but couldn't. He needed something to eat and drink even though it was early, so called his nurse. A nice nurse came in and asked if he needed anything.

"Uh…yeah I'm sorta hungry and thirsty,"

"Well the breakfast is always ready at 4:00 am, so do you think that you can wait that long?"

"Well could I at least have some water?"

"Sure," she handed him a plastic glass of water.

"Thanks,"

The nurse left and Jackson finished his water. A little bit later, he fell asleep.

Jackson woke up at 9:30. He looked over at the arm chair where his dad had been previously sleeping.

His dad came in with a tray filled with food.

"Hey I was just about to wake you up," he said.

His dad began feeding him some cereal. "C'mon I can feed myself," Jackson complained.

"No, you can't. You're still too weak,"

That settled it. Jackson quickly shut-upped and let him feed him.


	5. Chapter 5

The 3 weeks passed and the day came when Jackson was going home.

"Okay, I don't want him doing any strenuous activities. He should just rest for about 5 to7 days," the doctor said to Michael.

"Okay, so when does his physical therapy start?"

"Whenever he's ready,"

"I'll start right away," Jackson interrupted.

"Okay, go the physical therapy area at 3:00 tomorrow and every day after that at the same time,"

"Okay, bye Doc!" Michael wheeled Jackson out of the hospital towards their car. When they arrived at the car, a man was standing there.

"Hello, I'm Devin Jackson's lawyer. He'd like to speak with you as soon as possible,"

"No freaking way. I don't want anything to do with him," Jackson shouted. It was clear that he didn't even want to discuss his name, let alone talk to him in person.

"I only think he wants to offer you an apology," the lawyer said with plea.

"Well, let me get this strait. The guy who shot me, almost killed me, wants to apologize. Is that correct?"

"You're making it sound all wrong. All he wants to do is offer you an apology for his actions,"

"How can you make it sound right? As soon as he gets out of prison, he'll be the exact same,"

"Well, I just want you to think about it, okay?" the man walked off to different car, not far from their own. Michael helped Jackson inside the car. Then he folded up the wheelchair and put it in the back. Then he walked along the left side of the car to the driver's seat. Michael started the car and backed out of the parking place. Jackson tried to stay awake but failed to do so. The next thing he knew was that he was laying on something soft. He looked around and saw that he was in the living room of his house. Michael came walking into the room moments later.

"I was wondering when you would wake up,"

"What time is it?"

"Almost 5:00," That was bad. They had left the hospital at noon. He probably wouldn't sleep too well tonight.

"I'm hungry," Jackson said, as his stomach growled.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Umm…soup?"

"Chicken Noodle all right?"

"Yeah,"

"Do you want the remote before I leave?"

"Uh, sure," Michael threw him the remote and disappeared into the kitchen. Jackson turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. One program caught his eyes. It was a news report. It had caught his eye because an anchorman had said his name.

_"Our biggest story today is about the teenager who survived a plane crash and now a bullet, Cody Jackson. The man who shot the bullet, was none other than his own father," _Jackson turned the channel in frustration. He absolutely HATED reporters. He learned that when they were rescued from the island. After finding nothing to watch on TV, he decided to call Nathan. They had become great friends on the island after they settled their differences. He picked up the phone and dialed his number. Four rings had past, and Jackson decided to give up. Then he tried Melissa, but she wasn't there either. He just gave up since he didn't feel like calling anybody else. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Jackson waited for Michael to get it. When he opened the door six familiar faces piled in. The seven faces were Nathan, Melissa, Eric, Taylor, Daley, and Lex.

"Hey guys!" Jackson said happily.

"Hey Jackson," Nathan said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well we figured you could use a welcome back party, with the help of your dad," Daley told him cheerfully.

Then Michael disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a cake. It said "Welcome home Jackson!"

The group started talking and didn't stop until Jackson announced that he was tired and needed to go to bed. The group left and Michael helped Jackson up the stairs. He put Jackson on the bed and said," Good night,"

Jackson managed to say a good night to Michael before he fell asleep.

**Well sorry about the wait. I hope you enjoy it. R&R!**


End file.
